It is very strange to me to live in a dry climate for the first time in my life. I grew up in a very humid area. My husband grew up in the north, but he said that it was much more humid there than where we are living now. I was offered a job out west last year, and my husband and I decided to take it. It is sort of a temporary job. The company that I am working for is excavating and studying a particular plot of land, and the project is estimated to take around two years. The weather here is so much different than what we are used to. Like I said previously, it is so dry here. I have dry skin and chapped lips year round if I am not careful to use heavy moisturizers every single day. I bought a humidifier back when I lived down south. I only used it about five times, and for many years it was in storage. I brought it out west with us because someone told me that I would need it. Now, I understand what he meant. I run my humidifier 24/7, and it helps quite a bit. I think it may be on its last leg though. It has been making some pretty strange noises lately, and I do not think it will make it much longer. My husband tried to figure out why it was making that noise, but he did not find anything that would be causing it. It seems to be getting louder and louder each day. Needless to say, I will be buying a new humidifier soon because I cannot live without one out here.